Building Your First Indoor Grow Room

OK, you’re convinced. You want to set-up a grow room and you want to raise plants indoors, but where do you start? It can be very confusing at the beginning of the journey but taking the time to come up with a well-devised grow room will make your life a lot easier! Now discover how to plan, prepare and put together the most highly effective and efficient grow room by reading our comprehensive guide – recommended for beginners and experts!

Indoor gardening can be as easy or complex as you want it to be. Over time the experience gained from previous crops will often breed an insatiable desire to experiment and fine tune all aspects of your set up, but when you're only just starting out definitely aim to stick to the basics and keep things simple.

In essence your main goals are the following:

1.) To construct a grow room with the necessary amount of space, good light coverage and suitable air exchange

2.) To add healthy plants to the set up

3.) To ensure that plants receive continued and adequate care and attention.

Excellent results are not difficult to achieve irrespective of the growing technique you choose to use - Hydroponics, Soil or Coco. Following some tried and tested methods and practices will give you a solid base to develop from and add more advanced skills to as you progress. The best way to make your indoor garden as efficient and effective as possible is to put some real thought into your grow room at the planning stage. So where do you start?

Choosing a suitable space

Is an available area big enough?

Almost any space could be used for a grow room, from a small cupboard to a whole room, garage or attic space. You can either convert a whole room or cupboard into a grow room, or use a grow tent or chamber within a room to create an enclosed growing space.

Will you be able to provide the necessary amount of power?

An electrical supply source is going to be needed to power lights, pumps, fans, etc. For a one light or two light set up a couple of normal double wall socket would be sufficient. If wall sockets are limited or not in the right locations, an extension lead can help to solve the problem.

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0599

Extension Lead

£6.95

Can you get tap water from somewhere nearby?

A nearby water supply is vital as your plants will almost certainly get very thirsty when exposed to powerful amounts of light. We recommend tap water over rain water because it gives you a much cleaner and safer base liquid on which to build. Rain water will already contain many elements and could also carry diseases or fungi that may then harm your plants.

What impact will a grow room have on others around you?

Lights and pumps may be on at night creating a small amount of noise, so you need to consider the placement of your grow room in relation to the location of bedrooms and indeed the homes of neighbours.

Do not grow on carpeted floors as these can hold moisture and harbour bugs and bacteria. The occasional spillage or leak is unavoidable too, ideally remove any carpet and line the floor with thick black/white reflective sheeting.

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1292

Reflex Black/White Reflective Sheeting - 10 metres

£13.95

Can you create a completely enclosed 'light-tight' environment?

If you have a small window or natural light source in your growing area you will probably want to block it off or light trap the area with reflective sheeting. The aim is to effectively stop the light generated by lamps from escaping your grow room, whilst at the same time also preventing natural light from entering the area and affecting growth rates. The latter is a problem because plants basically get confused and stressed out if they are exposed to light on an inconsistent basis - the same way you would be if your bedroom suddenly illuminated during the middle of the night!

Several types of grow room sheeting - including Orca and Reflex Diamond - also help to increase the reflectivity of grow tents and make walls more reflective, enabling you to use as much of the output produced by your grow lights as possible. In the picture below, you can see just how shiny Orca is (the right box) compared against standard mylar!

Due to the cost of electricity, many growers decide to have their lights on during the night and their lights off (dark) period during the day. To make checks and carry out tasks in your grow room during the day when the lights are most likely to be switched off, we recommend using an Active Eye Head Lamp.

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9981

Active Eye Head Lamp

£9.95

Alternatively if you plan on tending to plants whilst the lights are on, protect your eyes with LUMii Lenses

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0602

LUMii Grow Room Lenses

£14.95

Are you able to regularly replace the air in your grow room?

Whatever area you choose to use in the end, adequate air exchange must be achieved - usually by means of one fan taking air out and either a vent or second fan (depending on the size of your set up) bringing in new supplies. Make the effort to master the art of ventilation and you will soon come to understand the importance of good air exchange, be adept at selecting the right equipment for the job and then more confident at building and installing a complete extraction system. Check out the following articles to learn more about these skills:

Smaller extractor fans are typically quite quiet, but larger extractor fans do tend to produce some noise. That being said, each model in the Isomax range actually features an innovative baffle and acoustic lined chamber (akin to a very large silencer) to reduce overall noise output and still allow for the movement of huge amounts of air. As a general rule, the more lights you have the more air exchange you will require (see the table below for details on the relationship between the size of tents, number of lights and suitability of extraction systems).

Extractor fans are normally on for 24 hours a day when used in conjunction with carbon filters. Your extractor fan doesn’t have to be in the grow room, it can be placed outside the room and run in line with ducting. If you're using an intake fan and extraction fan, they ideally need to be positioned in opposite corners of the growing area.

To help avoid heat problems, especially in summer, try to make grow rooms at least 180cm (6”) tall. If your indoor garden doesn’t have this headroom then you may want to consider using smaller lights or a LightRail.

Now you know what you need to consider before setting up a grow room, the next step is to decide whether you're going to convert an entire room into a growing oasis, use an existing enclosed environment like a cupboard, or create a grow room within a much larger room that may be serving other purposes - e.g. a bedroom or lounge (typically with a grow tent).

Build Option 1: Converting a whole room

Generally it’s best to match the size of area to the amount of light. There would be no point using a 600 Watt light to try and fill an entire 6m x 3m room. If you only wanted to spend money on the one light, you’d be better off using an XL BudBox Grow Tent to contain the output and maximise the growth and yield of plants.

If you do have a reasonably large, completely empty room like the one above and want to use multiple 600 Watt lights to fill the whole space, then set up a system for every 1.2m x 1.2m piece of space (absolute minimum).

Although the above layout fully utilises the space available, we'd always recommend using a tent. Managing the growing environment immediately becomes a lot easier so that you're able to establish and maintain very specific temperatures and humidity, prevent bug infestations and disease, minimise light loss, and much more. At the expense of losing two lights from the above scenario, you can install 2 x Titan+ BudBox Grow Tent.

Of course you don't have to opt for 600 Watt lights. Equally so, the more lights that you intend to run (whatever the wattage), the bigger the extractor fan will need to be to keep the temperatures manageable. The table below indicates the extraction fan (and intake fan if necessary) that you should use alongside your preferred power and quantity of grow lights.

Remember air needs to enter the room as well as leave it. This means some air input holes and/or an input fan should be used to bring new air into the growing room from a friendly temperature source like another room inside the house. Hot air extracted from the top of the grow room should ideally leave the building. Your input fan should be a bit smaller than your output fan.

Build Option 2: Converting a small area like a wardrobe, closet or cupboard

When you're planning on growing in a small space like a closet, try and have the height of it as tall as possible - at least 5 feet is good, with nothing more powerful than a 250 Watt Light. Ideally though, you want even more headroom than this to prevent possible future heat problems. If you don’t have a great deal of headroom then you may want to consider a smaller light like a T5 Grow Light (product on left is an example). However, as these lights are designed for propagation we'd suggest trying to find a bigger area.

In small areas with 250, 400 or 600 Watt lights it’s best to use an extractor fan to take the hot air away from the top of the room and air input holes around the bottom of the room for new air to enter. Better still, an air input fan can also be used to force new air into the grow room and create a constant flow of new air in and old air out. This will keep the area as cool as possible, facilitating optimum light levels and better overall results. If you decide to go with an input fan, still have air input holes in place and make sure you use a smaller input fan than output fan.

When you're only using one or two lights you ideally want to input air from an indoor source at a friendly temperature. Your extracted hot grow room air should be ducted outside, or at least away from the plants and into the rest of a larger room that is adequately ventilated.

Build Option 3: A grow room within a room

BudBox Grow Tents are very popular because they can be set up quickly in any space to create the perfect growing area without it infringing on the rest of the room. They use highly reflective, extra thick, flame retardent material to trap the light in and maximize yield. An extractor fan is again required to create some airflow through the tent, either taking the air completely out of the building or mixing it back into the rest of the larger room. The tents take into account all of the growing, light and environmental factors, providing you with one distinct growing area that protects the rest of the room from the heat and humidity. Easy to erect and disassemble when not in use, BudBox Grow Tents prove to be superior to rival products and far more practical than homemade wooden structures.

That’s about it for the grow room, now you need to choose your lights and a growing system for the plants. Hand-watering in pots is very popular, especially in coco, but a hydroponics system does make it easier for the plants to cope with intense light environments and heat.

Get The Right Light System

A typical light system consists of three parts:

- Ballast: for regulating and controlling the supply of energy needed to power the light

- Reflector: for guiding as much of the light produced down towards your plants.

There are a variety of different power options you can select from when deciding what light system(s) to use, with the determining factor being your available space and budget. The three most popular lamp choices consist of the following:

1000 Watt lights also exist - these are extremely powerful and best utilized on LightRails where they will cover an area of about 1.5m x 3m.

If you’ve got a small closet type area a 250 watt sodium light will give great results from start to finish, although at least 5 feet of grow room height should be used. Alternatively you could use this small area purely for propagation and early vegetative growth, choosing to install a high output T5 fluorescent unit instead. The minimum grow room height for these lights is at least 4 feet, preferably more.

If you're using a 250 Watt, 400 Watt, 600 Watt or 1000 Watt light and want to have a timer dictate on/off times, you will also need to use a contactor to protect it from blowing as the inductive current that fires up the lamp is very high and will cause the timer to fuse and stay on.

Air Exchange

As mentioned earlier, air exchange is a key ingredient to a successful grow room. The ideal air exchange rate will vary at different times of the year and from room to room depending on aspects like grow room height. As a rough guide, about 30 air changes per hour is the desired minimum. We recommend at least 200 cubic metres of movement per hour for one 600 Watt light, then 150m3 per hour for each extra light. Compare the two figures for each method and go for an average between the two and you won’t be far out. Adjust this figure slightly up or down for 1000 Watt or 400 Watt respectively.

Basic Grow Room Safety

Grow light systems are very safe. They require a few hundred watts - no more than many other household electrical items - and like any of these devices prove to be perfectly safe if used with common sense and a healthy respect for electricity.

Tie cables when necessary and run them neatly and out of the way, position ballasts and any other electrical equipment where they will not come into contact with water unless specifically designed to do so - e.g. nutrient heaters and water pumps.

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0666

Cable Ties - Pack of 20

£0.99

From time to time check all installations, connections and wiring.

Make sure equipment is not accessible to children or animals.

Read instructions and safety information where applicable, especially where aggressive liquids are concerned.

Consider installing a fire extinguisher that has been specifically designed for a grow room.

Hello, your advice will be really useful to me. I'm trying to begin a small grow in a basement which is about 1.8 meters in height. How big should I build a grow box adequate for veg and flowering down there? What equipment do I need? If you can help I would really appreciate it. Thanks man.

Although it does depend on how big you actually want to grow your plants, we'd still recommend building a box that fills as much of the available room as possible - particularly with regards to the vertical space.

Since a head height of 200cm is the minimum normally required, you really ought to look at either a low power lighting option like a CFL reflector, blue Eco-Light for the vegetative stage and a red Eco-Light for the flowering stage or an air cooled lighting system like the DARKSTAR.

If you select a 600W light (covers an area of 120cm x 120cm) using the smaller DARKSTAR air-cooled design and attach the necessary 125mm fan and ducting parts to complete the set up (or just opt for the relevant air cooling kit), it can be hung closer to the tops of plants without scorching them.

In terms of your growing system, the selected growing method largely determines your actual amount of choice. NFT Gro-Tanks represent a great option for hydroponics when head height is limited since they lie very low to the ground. But for a coco or soil technique, RhizoPots are probably your best bet.

Hope that helps! Please feel free to ask more questions!

Seamus

Posted January 19, 2015 at 3:01 pm

Good afternoon guys,

What a website! You give great advice, so here I am!

I have done a couple of very average grows now and feel sick of mediocrity lol. I know I am not maximising the rooms potential and confess to being ignorant towards controlling the variables necessary for a successful grow.

So here I am about to start my next grow. I have a large room available and plan on growing ten plants using coco mix soil. I want to get a decent sized grow tent, what would you recommend? I was also wondering how many lights would be suitable and what carbon filter and extractor fan I should select?

I plan on using Canna A and B with Ton O Bud and Heavies near the end? Would you use these nutrients? If not, what would you choose?

I control the pH and use a Bluelab Truncheon for the EC. What is the best way to get readings at certain stages etc?

A lot of questions as you can see so I do apologise, but I just want to try and have a better understanding of how to go about this more successfully!

Thanks for the kind words! If it's reliable information you want, you've come to the right place!

Based on the fact that you intend to grow 10 plants, we'd recommend selecting an XXL size of tent (240cm width x 120cm depth x 200cm height). You might even be able to go for a bigger one (or alternatively need to scale down) according to the exact dimensions of your room - can you confirm these details? The excellent value BAY6 model promises to endure the wear and tear of several crops and suits growers working on a tight budget and/or limited experience, whereas the sensational BudBox Pro version comfortably stands up to repeated use and includes a huge number of convenient features. Definitely pick the latter option if you have a long term plan for indoor gardening, although that's not to say the cheaper option will let you down because it's still a very good product.

In an XXL grow tent the optimum lighting set up is 2 x 600W systems (the Puma brand are our most popular examples), whilst the Extraction Kit 3 covers all of your ventilation requirements (consisting of a RVK150A1 Fan, CF360 Carbon Filter and all the necessary 150mm ducting pieces to connect the key parts together). You really can't go wrong with this equipment!

Canna is a safe bet for your feeds but to really step things up to another level, check out SHOGUN Samurai Hydro Nutrients. Scientifically speaking, these are a lot more advanced than the competition and quickly seem to be gaining a loyal following (deservedly so, too). The same goes for the additives you have mentioned - we'd put forward SHOGUN PK Warrior 9/18, SHOGUN Sumo Boost and SHOGUN Dragon Force as far superior flowering boosters. Several articles on our blog explain the main differences and advantages if you need to see evidence! Just try here and here.

Think that's covered all your questions! Thanks for getting in touch and please feel free to ask anything else you'd like to find out! We're also available on the main website chat feature, over the phone by calling 0845 345 5177 and obviously in store. Cheers!

Jenny

Posted January 6, 2015 at 12:00 am

Hi there, I am looking at using a 120cm x 120cm x 200cm grow tent in my garage to grow from Spring to Autumn only want to find out just how well grow tents of all brands are insulated. I'm concerned about heat loss (and ££££ in electricity lost) through the walls of the grow tent and don't know if I need to surround the tent in something else or build more insulation around it. How good are the tents at containing all the heat? Do they feel cool to the touch outside when there is a full grow going on inside?

A 600w light is ideal in the size of tent you have mentioned, which inevitably promises to generate a little bit of heat. If you plan on extracting air from inside the tent and replacing it with fresh supplies taken from a different area of the garage (always recommended), you can expect a slight cooling effect. To counter this effect during the colder months, we would suggest looking at a tubular heater and/or an oil-filled radiator. In extreme cases, applying loft insulation to the garage will also help.

BudBox Grow Tents utilise a very well insulated canvas and include drawstring ports for ducting and irrigation pipework (so you don't allow heat to escape from poorly cut holes). Having had one set up in the office with a full grow on the go, we can tell you that there was no noticeable change to our temperature. However, the plants still found themselves enjoying a warm and properly contained environment!

Hope that helps!

Jenny

Posted January 7, 2015 at 8:11 am

Thanks for that - I have 5" and 4" fans for intake and extraction but have been told I should have 6" for the size grow tent I want. My garage is pretty big but I've also been told that extracting warm air into the garage could cause condensation everywhere... I am able to vent to the outdoors but I thought my garage would be big enough that the heat would dissipate. Maybe a case of "suck it and see"...

John1

Posted November 14, 2014 at 2:31 am

Hi,

Glad I found this site, lots of great information. I am a complete novice and want to set up a small grow tent on a budget in my garage for 2 low level plants. Would the following be suitable as a basic setup?

Thanks for the kind comments, it sounds like you're on the way to a nice little setup.

If you plan on getting a Budget/Extraction Kit there’s no need to buy separate ducting or jubilee clips (unless installing an intake fan – which won’t be necessary for your tent, just remember to open the vents to allow in fresh air).

For one light we’d recommend purchasing a Heavy Duty Timer Contactor rather than a separate timer and contactor as this will perform well and help save you a quite a bit of money at the same time.

A thermometer that measures temperature and humidity like the Accuread Temperature and Humidity Meter is worth having to monitor both of the main factors that affect conditions inside of your grow tent.

Instead of buying chain to use with your S-Hooks definitely consider investing in Ezi-Roll Light Hangers. Over the course of a crop you will need to adjust the height of your light and these handy accessories have been designed to let you take just a few seconds to do so.

If you want to grow in pots, check out RhizoPots! Honestly, these things are amazing! You treat them exactly the same as normal pots, but the air pruning that is facilitated triggers much bigger root growth and healthier plants!

For whatever type of nutrients you decide to use, make sure you’ve got the necessary equipment to create nutrient solutions. This includes a bucket, a measuring jug and a syringe. Coco also requires pH adjustment and measurement tools at the absolute minimum, though you should really do CF measurement too.

Other than this we’d just say to try and prepare for anything bad that could happen. Hang up yellow sticky insect traps as an early warning system for pests, pop a spider mite sachet (these will need replacing every 4 weeks) on each plant to protect them with “friendly” natural predators and have a powerful bug killer to hand in case of a sudden infestation of some kind (Mighty Wash and Protector Natural Insect Killer are very effective).

Soft Plant Tie is also really useful for supporting your plants whilst they grow, but you might not need it if you’re keeping them relatively small.

Hope that helps and good luck! Feel free to ask us more questions on here, via the site chat or by calling 0845 345 5177.

Jon

Posted November 13, 2014 at 10:09 am

Hi. I have a cupboard that is 100cm deep and about 60cm wide. It has a height of over 200cm. My question is whether this space is worth using for growing? Also how many plants could I realistically get in there, and how many watts lighting would I need?

Cupboards are often a great place to grow and it looks like your one is no different! You could comfortably fit a 250w grow light in that space, or a 400w model at a push - either way, good ventilation is essential. If you're completely new to indoor gardening, check out our Puma Grow Lights and the RVK100A1 Budget Extraction/Filtration Kit 1. The narrowness of the cupboard means that you're only going to be able to grow 1 or 2 plants, but that's still pretty good and at least the area won't cost a lot to kit out.

Thanks for getting in touch - let us know if you have any more questions!

Mick

Posted November 7, 2014 at 5:09 pm

Going to set up a grow room that is around 2.5m x 2m. My head's not working at the moment, so help is needed! Experienced grower with up to 7 plants. Just want to know what products to put on my shopping list. Much appreciated, thanks :)

If you wanted to put a tent in that area (recommended), we'd suggest going with a 2m x 2m Titan BudBox - which will leave you with a little bit of space around the outside for the ventilated air. For that particular tent you can use 4 x 600w grow lights alongside an extraction system consisting of an RVK150L1 extractor fan and a CF680 Carbon Filter. To make things easy for yourself, consider a Titan BudBox Basic Kit. This includes the lights and extraction system mentioned plus all the necessary parts for connecting and suspending them.

Hope that helps!

newbie

Posted November 6, 2014 at 9:27 pm

Hi, I am new to this and would like to start, I was thinking of buying a 2m x 2m x 2m grow tent, using 2 x 600w grow light and then running ducting into the chimney. My main worry is about the heat! My loft is not insulated but I'm going to use kingspan between rafters then plasterboard - can you tell me if this will be a problem? Thanks, like I said I'm a beginner, any advice or a better way to grow would be great.

The insulation will help contain the heat during the winter but in the summer you'll have to make sure you control the temperatures very carefully. It shouldn't put you off though, there's plenty of products available that are very effective at cooling grow rooms and keeping the air fresh - such as Split Air Conditioning Units.

Anything else we can assist you with today?

ray holmes

Posted October 26, 2014 at 6:41 pm

Hey, I want to grow six plants - what is the minimum suitable size of grow room recommended and how many 250w HID lights would be needed?

Either a Large BudBox Tent (1m x 1m) or an XL BudBox Tent (1.2m x 1.2m) would be suitable for six medium sized plants. 2 x 250w lights in one of those tents is fine, but we'd recommend upgrading to 600w lights for a little bit of extra power!

Hope that helps!

hydro-peneur

Posted October 4, 2014 at 7:26 am

Hi. I have built a (box) room inside a bedroom that fits 4 x 25 Litre pots in with 2 lights but as its in a block of flats and its noisy I can hear upstairs and downstairs. The only thing I care about is the noise as my downstairs neighbour has just started complaining about it - now I'm wondering how to soundproof the room that's inside the other room? Can I sit the room on polystyrene blocks? Like I say, it's the fan that's causing the problem. Any advice would be much appreciated.

What size and type of fan are you using? If it's one of the larger RVK models, adding a silencer and acoustic ducting can make a big difference. But to really bring the level of noise down to virtually a whisper, we'd suggest checking out the Isomax Acoustic Fans - we have models set up at our stores and you can barely tell that they are there! The polystyrene blocks idea is a good one too - definitely worth a try.

Hope that helps!

danny

Posted September 5, 2014 at 4:54 pm

I want to do a 1 plant grow in my cupboard. Can you tell me what I need please, from lights to nutrients? Thank you.

Could you tell us what the dimensions are of your cupboard? The minimum amount of space you are going to need to grow 1 plant is 75cm (width) x 75cm (length) x 100cm (height).

Cheers!

Daniel

Posted August 22, 2014 at 8:10 am

Hey, I'm a new grower and me and my buddies really want to start a big grow. We have a good sized garage and I really wanna know what's the best way to do this to get a large yield. I was researching a hydroponic vertical grow system but don't know if it's worth the investment? We could use the whole garage and want to have about 30 plants going if possible. Let me know what you recommend to do thanks!

It's great to hear that you're ready to have a go at indoor gardening! Every aspect of a grow room and every process involved in growing plants can be tailored to maximise yields. We've actually put together a very comprehensive article specifically aimed at beginners that explains all of the opportunities you will find to boost final results. Just click here

Hope that helps!

FaTTy

Posted August 20, 2014 at 7:09 pm

Okay, so i have a question or two...

I am gonna use the Flora Series nutrients for feeds (Flora Gro, Flora Micro, Flora Bloom), but I need to know a specific schedule to feed my plants. Do I feed once and water with regular water and then feed again or feed once/twice a week? I have looked at the schedule that Flora gives out and I just wanna be sure that it will work for my plants.

I decided to build a 4ft x 4ft x 7ft grow room and I have one 600w hps. I am gonna put 8 plants in there - is that good enough light for 8 plants? I am going to use 4 gallon pots and soiless coconut fiber. I got a temperature/humidity gauge and a 6 inch duct fan for the exhaust, which is running into the attic. There are screened vents in the bottom of the room to let new air in. The room is encased in white plastic to try and keep it bright but not super reflective in an attempt to keep the level of heat down.

I am new to indoor growing and hope that everything goes well. I can't wait to get started and any help given would be much appreciated...

If you are using coco for your growing media we would highly recommend choosing a coco-specific range of nutrients like Coco Professional or Vita Link Coir. These have been carefully designed to work with the properties of the media and deliver the best possible results. Conveniently you can still add hydroponics boosters and stimulants to the coco feeds, meaning there is a lot of product choice and opportunity to turbo-charge plant performance!

Considering the dimensions of your grow room, a 600w light will be fine for 8 x small/medium-sized plants. Indeed, the rest of the set up sounds good to us too.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask!

dan

Posted August 18, 2014 at 12:44 am

Hi there,

I have recently set up my grow room and currently have 6 plants living in there, everything seems to be going well (or at least I think so anyway as this is my first grow) - can someone advise me as to whether or not I need to change anything please? I have a 1.2m X 1.2m X 2m tent with a 5 inch extractor/carbon filter kit, a 16 inch oscillating fan (inside the tent) and a 600 watt grow light. At the moment I don't have an intake fan bringing in cool air, any advice is highly appreciated!

Placing a 16 inch oscillating fan in that size of tent may lead to problems (e.g. windburn), as it is a little too powerful - even with the summer heat to fight against. We'd recommend relocating the fan to somewhere else in the room (not the tent) to keep the air circulating, and then you should pop a 6 inch clip-on fan in amongst your plants. Everything else sounds about right, you don't really need an intake fan so save your money!

Hope that helps!

Joe

Posted April 30, 2014 at 3:26 pm

Was looking at a Secret Jardin Lodge DR90 Grow Tent (90cm x 90cm 180cm), with a Wilma 4 Pot System (small 60cm x 60cm) and a Lumatek 250w or 400w Dimmable Ballast. I will add an extract and intake fan because of lack of side space but am not sure if the Wilma system is too big for the tent. I wanted to use the dimmable ballast so I could move seedlings in very early, is this a good idea?

Thanks for your enquiry. We don’t sell any products from the Secret Jardin range other than the propagation tent because they are silver lined, and we find that the heat build up in these tents can be excessive, and can cause hot spots. The BudBox range that we stock are very well constructed and have a white lining which prevents this heat build up and offers a more even light reflection.

Also the Wilma System that you have specified is an older model which we no longer do. They have improved the system which now measures 74x74cm and allows more space between the pots - read more about it here. So it would fit in your tent should you decide to go for the DR90. As for the light, a 400w would be optimum in that space, but again you would need to be aware of the heat build up and plan your extraction accordingly.

Using a dimmable ballast is a good idea as far as being able to dim it for younger plants, but I would be wary of using too much light on seedlings, especially if you want to move them in very early. It would be advisable to get an Eco-Light and reflector for £37.95 to use on the seedlings/young plants and allow them to establish well before switching to the HPS.

Perhaps go for 4 standalone 600w lights and forget the Lightrail as the only model we recommend after extensive trials does not have the capacity to hold 3 lights. With regards to the contactors, you'll be able to invest in one unit to manage the power loads of the three or four lights - choose between the Exolux Four Light Timer Contactor and the Eco-Technics Four Light Timer Contactor. A timer is built into the former product, but for the latter you will need to invest in a separate unit like the tried and trusted Grasslin model.

If you're somehow able to find an extra bit of space that changes the dimensions of the grow room to 2m x 2m, we'd suggest getting yourself a Titan BudBox Basic Kit, which includes a fantastic tent and a lot of the key bits of equipment you will need such as 4 x 400 Watt Proxima Euro lights, a four light timer contactor, an appropriate sized fan and filter, plus all the parts to connect up and hang these systems.

If you can't fit a Titan BudBox Grow Tent into your area or just don't fancy using one, you'll require an RVK150L1 Extraction/Filtration Kit for the fan, filter and connecting parts that are necessary to create the right size of extraction system. In our opinion a 300mm (12 inch) fan and filter is too big for your room, though it shouldn't cause any major problems were you to ignore this advice. In terms of intake, an RVK150A1 fan would be more than sufficient. Additionally to control fan speeds and the level of draft around your plants, purchase of a decent fan speed controller is worthwhile.

For the pots, we would recommend 12 of the smaller Rhizo-Pots when plants are young and developing and 12 of the larger Rhizo-Pots when plants have become more established and are growing at a fast rate. The Rhizo-Pots beat plastic pots hands down, possessing a unique design that facilitates the hugely beneficial process of air pruning - find out more here.

I am currently looking at your XL BudBox Grow Tent with the basic starter kit. I see it comes with an extractor fan which, if I'm correct, can be left outside the tent and used to bring cool air from the outside to the inside of the tent? Do I need a second fan to suck the hot air out from inside the tent?

I'm looking to grow 8 plants in coco or soil, what size pots do you recommend and which type? Also, what do you recommend mounting the pots on - should they just sit on the floor of the tent or be raised on a base? Based on your knowledge what growing medium (coco or soil) would work best for a beginner?

Another question about lighting, the kit comes with a 600 watt bulb - can this be regulated to different intensities for the different stages of the grow or is the 600 watt suitable for all stages, such as the veg or even seed stage? I'm also assuming your lights are height adjustable within the tent?

I know the starter kit and tent will get me set up but what else would you recommend to start off and maintain my plants throughout the grow?

Sorry if this is a bit much, but i'm new to this and in need of help! Hopefully my post will help other people too!

It's always nice to hear from a new grower and we totally understand that there are a lot of questions you will want answers to before starting out! So lets have a look...

Your main fan will be used for extraction - i.e. taking hot air out of the grow room. In some circumstances an open vent proves enough for bringing fresh supplies in, but generally an intake fan is required to do this job. Ultimately it depends on the power of the lights in your grow room, since these will have a large role to play with regards to the level of heat.

Whether you opt to use soil or coco, our recommendation for the system is the same - Rhizo-Pots! In your scenario, we'd go for 9 x 8 Litre Rhizo-Pots, positioning them on Garland Trays inside the tent so that you have 3 rows each containing 3 of the pots. Soil is the easiest growing media to select and perfectly suits Rhizo-Pots but coco happens to be very similar and will also tend to deliver better yields.

The Proxima Ballast that comes supplied with the XL BudBox Basic Kit ranks very highly amongst growers but does not let you alter the intensity of light over the course of a crop. However the 600 Watt Exolux Pro Ballast will allow for incremental increases in the power level, so you can work up towards the 600 Watt mark as your plants develop. If this is your preferred choice, we are happy to upgrade the kit to include it. To easily adjust the height of your reflector and bulb, you should get yourself a pair of Exolux Ezi-Roll Light Hangers.

On top of these considerations, we'd also suggest that you purchase some tools to monitor the environment (e.g. Accuread Temperature & Humidity Meter) and support devices (e.g. yo-yo's) for keeping your plants upright. If you would like a bit more help give our Technical Team a call on 0845 345 5176 and also take a look through our Learn Section to identify exactly what you need.

Hope that helps!

Pete

Posted March 19, 2014 at 3:23 am

Hi there, I have fresh air coming through a vent into a tent in a bedroom - is it wise to extract the filtered air straight into the loft? The loft is a big size (roughly 8m x 4m not including the eves), empty, has no insulation (can see the tiles) and features a slate roof. I was going to put a ducting size hole in the bedroom ceiling and run it straight through. Just worried about heat and condensation. I will be running 2 x 600w lights. Cheers

A lot of people choose to do this and from the set up you have described, it sounds like a good plan.

Thanks for the question!

dan

Posted March 12, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Can anyone help? I've got a quite small cabinet that I'm hoping to turn into a grow box, but I'm a first timer and have no idea about what I need to use to get the best results? The cabinet size is H170cm W45cm L50cm. Any comments would be appreciated.

This space is a little bit too small really, we'd definitely recommend trying to find a bigger area in which to grow your plants.

If you are stuck for room and have no other options, the best bet light-wise involves switching between the ultra efficient, low heat producing blue Eco-Light for vegetative growth and the equally impressive red Eco-Light for flowering. You'll need to combine these with a CFL Hobby Reflector (dimensions of 50cm x 40cm x 15cm tall) or a CFL Lead and Lampholder to get everything going and achieve reasonable results - however, yields and quality won't match that of plants grown using HPS lights. With this in mind, the only alternative worth mentioning is the extremely popular 250 Watt Proxima System. Arguably though, these generate too much heat for the confined space you plan on turning into a grow room.

In terms of ventilation, you should opt for a Budget Extraction/Filtration Kit 1 (which includes a superb RVK100A1 fan, a Budget Filter BF160 and all the connecting parts). Whether you decide to buy a HPS or a fluorescent light, regular air exchange is needed - it's not just about keeping the heat levels down.

Finally with regards to a growing system, the only suitable option given your lateral and vertical capacity is one of the small-to-mid-sized Rhizo-Pots. Fortunately these happen to be great for growing plants!

Both tents draw from the same intake and exhaust out the same vent. We are looking at lights for the flowering room and figure we will need 4 of them to cover the space but are still a little shaky on the most suitable wattage amount.

Ventilation is also in question, is the one exhaust fan enough to properly vent both tents or should each tent have its own exhaust fan? Is an intake fan needed?

The good news is that all of the equipment you have already can be used in the set up we recommend. You don't really need to worry about the power of your lights for the flowering tent - we would always advise on going with 600 Watt bulbs where possible (more light tends to equal better results) and 4 of these side-by-side will work really well here.

In terms of intake, the flowering tent needs a RVK150L1 fan for introducing constant supplies of fresh air. However, due to the low power of the lights in the veg tent, you do not have to use an intake fan. Bonus!

Hope that helps!

A.T

Posted February 24, 2014 at 4:51 pm

Hello great GroWell team!

I have a 60cm x 60cm x 140cm tent and I want to plant only 1 plant (in the future perhaps 2, but not more than that). What extractor fan, carbon filter, lamp, ballast, etc would you recommend to a complete beginner with a low budget? About the light, do I really need a 250w one? I'm hoping to save as much money as possible on electricity (my landlord might not like it!) without compromising the development of the plant. With only one plant, should I still use a fan to bring clean air into the tent?

The tent will be placed in my bedroom, it's the only place where I can have it. Is it bad to sleep in the same space as the tent? I'm also wondering how I'll be extracting the air from the tent to the outdoors, as my window faces the main street, which makes it impossible to leave open at night.

Any advice from you would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

We appreciate space is a little tight, you've actually done well to find any free room at all by the sounds of things! There's nothing wrong with setting up a tent where you sleep, the extraction equipment may create a tiny bit of noise but not nearly enough to keep you awake at night!

Since the tent has quite a small total area and limited headroom, you are somewhat restricted in terms of lighting options. If you want to use a HPS lamp to get the most light to your plant, we would only recommend a 250 Watt 125mm Coolshade (the best budget buy in air cooled lighting) with a Proxima Ballast (our most popular and cost-effective power regulator), 125mm-100mm Reducer and 100mm Ducting. An air cooled light with the Reducer and 100mm ducting makes HPS lighting possible, otherwise you'll have to go with Blue (for veg) and Red (for flowering) Eco-Lights - still a good solution, just not really capable of the same results.

In terms of ventilation, you should opt for a Budget Extraction/Filtration Kit 1 (which includes a superb RVK100A1 fan, a Budget Filter BF160 and all the connecting parts). Whether you decide to buy a HPS or a fluorescent light, regular air exchange is needed - it's not just about keeping the heat levels down. Pleasingly from your budget's point of view, vents will be more than sufficient for intake! However, you are probably going to have to extract the air out of your window unless there is a chimney or attic available?

Any further questions, please feel free to ask!

chrstopher langford

Posted February 23, 2014 at 1:58 pm

Hi, I recently purchased the BudBox XL 1.2m by 1.2m by 2m (excellent quality). My question is - will two 250 watt hps lamps be ok - instead of the recommended 600 watt?

You could use 2 x 250 Watt lamps and do ok in terms of results but we'd strongly recommend opting for 1 x 400 Watt or 1 x 600 Watt lamps - ideally the latter as this will get the maximum amount of light to your plants that is suitable for that space. Remember, more light equals more growth and much bigger yields!

Thanks for your question.

bman

Posted February 14, 2014 at 11:06 pm

How many small plants could you fit in a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent using 6.5 or 8 litre pots without making it too humid?

If you plan on growing your plants to maturity, we would recommend having no more than 9 of the 6.5 or 8 litre pots in the tent. This will leave a little bit of space between each of them, allowing you to encourage lateral growth as well as vertical growth.

Thanks for the question!

ricky

Posted February 11, 2014 at 5:50 pm

Hi, I was just wondering what you think of my set up and if I should make any changes? Any info would be great! I'm using a 1.2m by 1.2m by 2m metre tent, a 600 watt Lumatek digital dimmable ballast, a 6 inch temperature controlled Ruck fan and an NFT 1000 system. I'm hoping to grow 8 plants - is this a good enough setup? Thanks.

You might find that a 6 inch fan is a little too powerful during the winter (we recommend a 5 inch version for your size of tent) but come the summer it will prove to be a good investment. Bearing in mind the size of your extraction fan, vents for intake purposes will work just fine over the cold months. When the weather starts to warm up you could add a 4 inch fan for the intake of air - though this is not absolutely necessary.

In a NFT Gro-Tank 1000 you will comfortably be able to grow 8-9 big plants, so it suits your needs. Likewise, the 600 Watt light is effective for tent sizes of 1.2m x 1.2m and above, allowing you to get a great deal of light down to the plants.

To summarise then, your set up is pretty good!

JasonX

Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:19 pm

Hi, my temperature in my tent was 32oC with 4 x 600w lights on and a 4" intake, I've since removed the 4" fan and put a 6" RVK intake in instead and it still hasn't dropped by much at all - now reading 30.5oC minimum. Can u recommend anything that will help me get my temp to 27-28oC please? Thanks, JasonX

We really need to know what extraction fan you are using and the size of tent. In terms of the latter point, the minimum enclosed growing area for 4 x 600w lights is 200cm x 200cm with at least 200cm for headroom (i.e. no smaller than a Titan BudBox). As for ventilation, assuming that you have a RVK150A1 (6") your extraction set up should feature a RVK150L1 (6"). We can suggest a few tips and tricks to get temperatures down on top of this (e.g. having your lights on at night when temperatures are cooler, rather than the day) but first need to make sure you're using the right extraction equipment in an appropriately sized tent.

Clair

Posted January 30, 2014 at 8:39 pm

Hi, I am currently in the middle of a grow in a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent with a 600w light and 2 x 150w CFL bulbs. I was wondering what your views are on them? I am only using all these lights to help keep the heat up which is still only at 23 during the lights on period (I'm from Scotland lol), are there any other ways to increase the level of heat? Can I close all the vents? Your help would be much appreciated, thanks.

We would highly recommend investing in a Klimaheat Tubular Grow Room Heater, which you can put straight into the grow tent to help warm the area immediately around your plants. If the conditions are as cold as you say, also seriously consider getting yourself one of our Oil-Filled Radiators to heat the whole of the room.

Good luck!

JohnBoy

Posted January 25, 2014 at 1:55 pm

Hi. I'm a new grower and I've just set up my first grow room. I've gone with coco in 15 litre pots with 16 plants under 4 x 600w lights in a 2m x 2m grow tent using an 8" extractor fan kit. I was just wondering where would be the best place to put my ducting to take the filtered air out of the grow tent? I've asked a few of my friends who grow and they said out the window, where would you recommend?

The air needs to be taken away from the room that the grow tent is located in, and away from the source of intake. Extracting it outside by running your ducting through an open window is the best option, but alternatively you could choose to send the air to another relatively unused area of your house - like a loft.

Hope that helps.

Curtis

Posted January 21, 2014 at 11:58 am

Hi there,

I have a question. Every year I grow chilli's on my windowsill, I use natural light during the day and extend the day light hours by using a single T5 Sunblaster. Would I benefit from trying a different type of grow light?

When confined to a windowsill the set up you have is probably the best option - maybe a T5 2-tube Propagation Unit could be employed instead to increase light output but it does depend on the available space.

Of course if you are able to find a bigger area to grow your plants, even if it's just an empty closet or part of a spare room, you have the ability to upscale and produce better results.

Eggward

Posted January 20, 2014 at 7:22 pm

Hi, I've just got a Titan 2m x 2m x 2m and was wondering what would be the best system to put in there under 4 x 600 Watt lights? Also, what is the best way to hold up my 8 inch carbon filter without taking up too much space? I'm scared of the poles bending and collapsing under it's weight.

Your Titan BudBox Grow Tent has enough room to accommodate some of our largest systems and head height isn't an issue either, so there are lots of options to consider! First of all you need to identify what type of growing technique you want to adopt - hydroponics, soil/organic or coco - since this will help you to narrow down your choices. If you're a relatively new grower we'd recommend growing in Rhizo-Pots filled with soil or coco, or one of the more easy-to-use hydroponics system like a NFT Gro-Tank 604 (you'd comfortably get 3 of these in your tent, allowing for some space between, in front and behind each one for lateral plant growth). Under high intensity discharge 600 Watt lights our hydroponics systems undoubtedly offer you the most potential for huge yields, so we always suggest that anyone with a bit more growing experience that happens to be using your size of tent take a look at multiple IWS Oxy-Pots, or a 12-plant IWS Bubbler System or a 12-pot IWS Flood System.

In terms of hanging/positioning your carbon filter within the tent, we can safely say that you can use Exolux Rope Ratchets to suspend it from the tent roof poles, avoiding any danger of buckling. As a means of best practice we advise that you hang the filter in the corner of the tent in a way that enables one ratchet to be attached to one tent pole and the other ratchet to be fixed to another. This helps spread the weight of the filter unit.

If you need any further advice, just let us know!

skenkus

Posted January 16, 2014 at 11:28 am

I have a closet 0.80m x 1.2m 2.00m, what would be the best set up for 1 or 2 plants, working on a budget from start to finish? Thanks.

That area isn't quite big enough for a 600 watt grow light, but a 400 watt model using a dual spectrum lamp would be ideal for vegetative growth and flowering. If you're working on a budget we recommend a 400 Watt Proxima Euro Light System, which includes a ballast, lamp and reflector. You'll need an extraction system for this set up - the relevant best value option is a complete RVK100A1 Budget Extraction/Filtration Kit 1. To hang your reflector and extraction system, definitely consider using Rope Ratchets.

If you're aiming to keep costs down, for the growing system we would recommend selecting the highly effective, extremely popular 30 Litre Rhizo-Pots. These are 35cm x 35cm, so 2 of them placed side by side will fit snuggly into your growing area, still providing enough space for some lateral growth. 3 x 20 litre bags of Bio-Bizz All-Mix Soil will be more than enough media to fill the pots, containing enough feed for a short but perfectly suitable vegetative growth period. At this stage we then recommend applying Bio-Bizz Bio-Bloom through flowering and all the way up until the final week before harvest. You may also want to place a Giant Garland Work Tray (120cm x 55cm) underneath pots and plants to ensure any spillages or dirt doesn't damage the bottom of your closet.

I'm thinking of a closet grow. Lights are T5 CFLs (1 x 4 bulbs), space is 3'x 2'x 9' (feet, Length x Width x Height). I have a couple of questions: do I need intake/outtake fans or would one regular fan blowing air away from the closet suffice? Also, what's the best way to plug in multiple lights to a timer and power strip? Should the timer go on the strip itself or the strip into the timer? Thanks for your time!

With fluorescent lights, your plants are simply not going to perform as they could and should do over the course of an entire crop (they are great for propagation and early vegetative growth). We'd highly recommend investing in a 400 Watt HID grow light system (though a 250 Watt also suits that space), which start from just £64.95.

If you wanted to stick with the T5 CFLs, fans for extraction and intake purposes are not going to be needed because very little heat is kicked out - however you will still have to find a way of getting fresh air in there every now and again and also removing the smells. The low amount of energy these type of lights demand also means that you won't require a contactor, although to control 4 separate lamps you could still use one. If you already own a Grasslin Timer, go for the Four Light - 3kW Timer Contactor (plug the timer into the mains, then the 'timer' plug on the contactor into the timer). If you don't, you could buy a unit that combines the timer and contactor functions, like the Exolux Four Light - Timer Contactor (put the two back plugs into the mains).

Hope that helps!

Timothy

Posted January 14, 2014 at 7:36 am

I have a 3x3x3 box and am planning on growing two plants in two 3 gallon pots. How big should the intake and exhaust fans be? We have 200 Watts worth of cfls that will go in as well.

Could you just clarify whether your room is 3m x 3m x 3m or 3ft x 3ft x 3ft or something else? If it's the former (metres) and you're planning on only using 200 Watts of CFLs, the two plants are going to end up disappointed. This just isn't enough light power to adequately fill the space. However with a few more details we will definitely be able to offer you much better advice!

david

Posted January 14, 2014 at 12:18 am

Hi. Can you put the extractor fan outside the grow box and just connect up to it with pipes? Also, does the filter need to be inside the grow box?

You can position the extractor fan just outside your grow tent and then run ducting into it, check out our article on Dual-Room Extraction With One Fan for an example of a set up where this has been done (admittedly with one fan and two tents, but it'd be the same for one fan and one tent). Just make sure the fan isn't placed too far away from the tent. In terms of the carbon filter, yes it does need to be put inside the tent to work as effectively as possible.

joseph

Posted January 4, 2014 at 10:28 pm

Hi, I am thinking about doing a grow with 10 plants. I wanted to know what would be the best option out of a free attic or grow tent in a room. If I use the attic I will be unable to draw in air from the outside so how would I go about ventilation? Please help me out!

Assuming you have enough space for a grow tent that can comfortably accommodate the number of plants that you want to grow, we would always recommend using one in an easily accessible room. Although attics are often a good place too, they do suffer more from temperature fluctuations and, depending on head height, sometime prove a difficult place to carry out tasks. If you will struggle to ventilate your attic, we'd definitely say to grow in the normal room.

john

Posted December 30, 2013 at 11:46 am

I'm thinking about putting a grow tent in my loft. I have a 2x2x2 space, will I need to insulate the loft?

An empty loft is an ideal place to position a grow tent, the only trouble is the different extremes of temperature over the course of a year. Insulating it proves to be a good move during the winter, but this does mean it will be very hot come the summertime. Our advice is to insulate your loft if you're planning on growing there, just be aware that in the height of summer you may have to work hard to keep temperatures at a suitable level for plant growth.

JohnBoy

Posted December 29, 2013 at 5:14 am

Hi! I'm planning on constructing my own outdoor grow room and I'm seeking advice for the project. What dimensions do you recommend and what equipment to match these dimensions? I hope to start with 4 plants but if all goes well hope to be able to grow more than 4 in the room, a room with a maximum capacity of 10 plants would be suitable. Any advice is appreciated.

Unfortunately you've left out details of the dimensions and size of plants that you intend to grow so it's quite hard to recommend any specific equipment. If you can provide us with a bit more information we'll be happy to make some suggestions!

sanchez

Posted December 26, 2013 at 10:44 pm

Hi, I have a 2 metre by 3 metre room and I'm thinking of setting up 2 x 600 watt lights. What fan and extraction power is needed for this arrangement?

Hi, I was wondering if you could help me as I'm having a problem with heat. I'm growing in a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent with a 125mm (5 inch) extractor fan and for my intake I have hooked up a fan that's built into my flat, which is quiet yet powerful. Anyway I put another 600w light in there the other day, then checked it 12 hours later and the temperature was 42.5C! I've disconnected the 2nd light until I can solve my heat issue. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

When you say you put another 600w light in the tent, are we right in thinking that you're now running 2 x 600w lights? If this is the case, you simply have far too much light for your growing space! The extraction and intake system you outlined is perfect for a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent with a single 600w light - but definitely no more than that. If you want to run 2 x 600w light we would recommend using a bigger tent (e.g. XXL BudBox) with a 150mm (6 inch) extraction fan and a 125mm (5 inch) intake fan as well as all of the required connection parts.

Also, where are you measuring the temperature? If the probe is right under the light you will get false high readings. It needs to be done in the shade at the bottom level of your plants.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your message and good luck!

stephen dunkley

Posted November 2, 2013 at 11:10 pm

Hi there, I'm getting a 80cm x 80cm x 160cm grow tent and this will house a non-aircooled 250w hps in a euro reflector. If the room temperature I'm aiming for is around 23/24 degrees celsius, what exhaust fan will I need to cool the grow tent and provide enough ventilation?

For the set up you have described we would recommend using a 100mm (4 inch) RVK100A1 Fan - you can find it here

Skoby73

Posted November 15, 2013 at 4:30 am

Hi. With a room that small you will need an extractor fan taking air out attached to a carbon filter, plus I would also use a small intake fan. I have a 120x120x200 tent with 3 x 300 cfl and I need to run an extraction and an intake fan. A HPS generates a lot more heat, don't go over 26oC or else it may cause you problems. Hope this helps, mind there is a lot of advice on here as well.

Buddha man

Posted October 25, 2013 at 8:47 am

Hi how many 10 litre pots do you reckon I should have in my 1.4 by 1.4 by 2.0 tent under a 600 GPS lamp thanks

We'd recommend 16 x 10 litre pots in a 4 x 4 grid, as this will allow your plants plenty of space for growth. You could actually get more into that area but may then suffer from problems relating to overcrowding.

damien

Posted October 4, 2013 at 3:46 pm

Hi was wondering could u help, I was thinking of putting a grow room in my attic but due to the pitch of the roof I dont think a tent would fit! Ideally I was lookin to run a 600w hps light with a 5" rvk for extraction... im also running 2 oxypots and hoping to achieve 2 medium to large plants... my question is this, do u think I could build my own grow space using mdf/ plywood ? And because its coming into winter would I need to insulate this for when lights are out because the attic can get very cold? Or is there any other methods for warmin grow rooms at lights out? Any tips for build/ maintainence would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks for your help :)

Hi, you could build a grow room with MDF or plywood. I would line the floor with black/white sheeting, & make sure you have ventilation holes at the bottom of the grow room if you are not using an intake fan. If you have less than 2 metres headroom, it will be worth considering using an air cooled lighting system. I would also use a Klimaheat grow room heater to maintain temperatures during lights off, you don;t want the temperature to drop below 18C.

chris

Posted June 25, 2013 at 10:51 pm

Hi I have a spare room 14ft x 12ft x 8.5ft high. I want to use the centre portion of the room 4x4 feet but not in a tent. I want to use the whole room to dissipate some of the heat as i intend to run a 1000 watt hps reducing to about 750 watts eventually. Would you recommend a dimmable ballast or a ordinary magnetic one which will produce more heat no doubt? I will be venting through the ceiling. I also want the surplus room to walk around the plants. I've heard 4 to 1 intake/outtake is pretty popular - is this also true for my set up? I was thinking 150mm RVK with temperature control because of the room size but I'm hoping to eventually be running nearer 750 watts total in the end. Should I have a carbon filter directly above the light or can I run a duct into the built-in wardrobe space? I was also wondering what temperatures you recommend selecting? Do you set it 2 or 3 degrees higher than your ideal temperature or just select the ideal temp and leave it? Many thanks!

I'm taking on the challenge of growing ghost peppers indoors. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My room (I think it was used as a grow room by the previous owners) is about 6ft x 8ft with 7ft ceiling, and has been painted gloss black from top to bottom.

Hi Steve, the growing space you have specified there is too small for a HID light - be it 250 Watt, 400 Watt or 600 Watt. In the case of the 600 Watt lamp you mentioned, you would need a minimum area of 1.2m x 1.2m. If you're determined to grow something in that space, we recommend considering using a fluorescent lamp like the Eco-Light. Check out our guide on lamps to learn more about coverage areas.

mr mr

Posted May 13, 2013 at 5:34 am

Hi, could you answer this for me please? In a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent with a 600 Watt hps and open-end Euro reflector, would running a Systemair RVK 150mm (6") L1 (680m3/h) fan attached to the relevant carbon filter, and a smaller 4 inch (200m3/h) inline fan bringing in fresh air into the tent be a good choice of setup? Would I be ok with that size (6 inch) for the 1.2m tent? And would I be better upgrading the 4 inch inline (200m3/h) for the 5 inch inline (245m3/h) to bring in more fresh air? I worry it will be too much for single 600w light - then again it is a open-end Euro reflector so I don't know? Could you help me with what's the best 2 size fans for me to get for the tent? I'd really appreciate it.

Hey Adam, thanks for the question. First of all it's important to note that we don't really think your light choice will be intense enough or have enough coverage for the system you intend to use. Normally for such an area we'd recommend 8 x 600 Watt hps lamps which would require that you extract air with an RVK315A1 fan or 250mm Futuretech fan, and also set up a RVK250L1 fan for intake purposes.

Dan

Posted January 23, 2013 at 9:41 pm

Hey GroWell Team,
First, thanks for all of your extremely useful information. I am acquiring a full set up from a buddy who was growing in a tent. I will be building my own (larger) tent and using his other equipment. He is giving me a 1000w light that he used in a tent that was smaller than the one I am hoping to build. My question is, what is the maximum amount of space (and plants) that I can use with that size bulb to get maximum yield?

Hi Dan! We would suggest not going much bigger than a 1.4m2 space for 1 x 1000w lamp - although your choice of reflector will have a big impact on the distribution of light. With regards to plants, we'd say growing 9 medium sized plants in a 3 x 3 grid is ideal (you can cram more into that space but it tends to lead to smaller plants and less growth).

If it's your first ever grow we actually advise against using the 1000w light, since it will form part of a high intensity grow environment that requires more expertise and attention from you.

barry bishop

Posted January 5, 2013 at 5:58 pm

Hi. I have a room which measures 1.24m x 1.05m x 2.6m high and am thinking of growing 6 plants. I'm running a 6 inch carbon filter to eliminate any bad odours but have only got a 400w lighting system. My question is, do you think 400w of lighting is good enough to get good results as last time I used a 600w system I achieved fantastic yields? Also if i put a vent in my closet door will that be enough to let in fresh air or would you recommend a fan to draw air in? Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!

Hello there, thanks for your question! The ideal space for a 600w light is 1.2m x 1.2m but you'll get away with using one in the area you've outlined in your post. Great results are achievable whether you choose to go with a 400w or 600w system - the latter will deliver more light though so we'd always recommend that over the slightly less powerful one. Given the size of the room you're growing in, a vent will be enough for air intake purposes. Hope this helps!

Additional note: if you decide to go with the 400w option we'd definitely suggest purchasing a fan speed controller as well, since your 6 inch extraction system may be a bit much for the light in that area. Check out our low price fan speed control unit or the slightly more expensive and significantly quieter fan speed voltage controllers.

josh

Posted December 28, 2012 at 5:03 pm

Hi. I have a 2m H x 3.6m L x 2.1m W room - what size extraction system would you recommend? 12"???

Hi there Josh. It really depends on how many lights you want to run in that space. We'd recommend 3 x 600 watt systems (each one usually requires an area of at least 1.2m x 1.2m), meaning a 6" extraction set up would prove ideal. Check out our complete kits

John

Posted December 2, 2012 at 1:00 pm

Hello

I am going to set up a 1m2 or 1.2m2 tent with a 600w HPS (using a Cool Shade reflector). The tent will be inside a smallish bedroom next to a window. From what I have read the 5" extraction/carbon filter kit will be sufficient (pumping the hot air outside) and a 4" intake fan (taking air into the tent from the bedroom)

I have a few questions:

1. How much noise can be expected from this system? Is a digital ballast quieter than a normal one? How about the intake/extractor fans - are they noisy? Can anything be done to reduce the noise? Will it be possible to sleep in the same room?

2. Assuming the system has the 5" carbon filter installed will there be much of a smell problem from your experience? Will the bedroom where the tent is smell? Will it be necessary to put an ONA odour smell control block in the bedroom?

1.) The digital ballast will run more quietly than a magnetic one, but magnetic ballasts themselves do not produce much noise. The RVK fans are quiet for the volume of air that they move, but they are not silent. They are comparable to a household extractor fan in terms of noise. We'd recommend using Acoustic Ducting to reduce the noise of these fans.

To keep it simple, you need a light, some extraction, a tent (or growing space) and a system/method of growing. The choices are pretty endless though, so maybe the best thing to do is buy one of our starter kits, or if possible pop into one of our stores and have a chat with one of our expert staff. Then we can get you growing in a way that suits you and to your budget!

sparky

Posted September 19, 2012 at 7:45 pm

i also forgot to mention that my budbox is postioned inside a house room, and will i be ok extracting into the room, with intake from the same room as well, room temp sits perfectly at 21c during the day dropping to 17-18c during nights

Setup
L budbox - 600w proxima, standard oscilating fan, (extraction thinking rvk 125 and intake 5" passive inline) will the extracion and intake system be enuff to get my temps down from 39c when lights are on, down to around 21c?

Extracting from your tent into the same room will give you issues as you will simply end up heating the air around the tent (and therefore the intake air temperatures). We would recommend ducting the hot air away from your tent, preferably to an entirely different room (or outside). The temperature in of your intake air will then remain cool and can bring your grow tent temperatures down.

Sparky

Posted September 19, 2012 at 7:40 pm

Hi there, i have recently purchased the Budbox
100mm x 100mm x 200m. I wanted to get a 400w hps for this setup but unfortunately there was none in stock an i have purchased a 600w proxima kit. Temps are at a steady 38c with light on an nothing more than an oscilatting fan in the tent. i was orginally planning a 400w with a 100rvk for extraction an a 5" passive inline intake. My question is will the rvk125 for extraction fitted with a filter and the same 5" inline for intake be enough to drive temps down to around 21c ?

The extraction you will need for that set-up will be a RVK125-A1 fan and maytching filter (or an extraction kit if you want to save some money). Given that you are running a 600w light in that space, we would recommend a RVK100A1 intake fan also to keep temperatures manageable. Hope this helps!

bob

Posted August 8, 2012 at 6:48 pm

hi

was wondering if there is any point in buying a 2m x 2m Hydrogarden Grow Tent and then using a 300w led light with Kit 1 - Jupiter II Light Mover System

also how many plants would be advised under that wattage of light given that the space of 2m x 2m is a lot but i dont wanna cramp everything in

That's not a tent we supply, and in general we advise people to avoid silver finish grow tents due to the heat issues that can arise (they run at 2-3 degrees warmer than the equivalent white tent with a 600w HPS). Also, have a look at our LED article and you will see that we are not finding LED's to be very effective. Even if LEDs were effective (we're still testing), there would be no point in putting one on a light mover. Light movers allow you to cover larger areas with high powered lights. Relatively low powered lights moving over your canopy will result in extremely poor growth I would think. In a 2m x 2m tent (I would recommend a BudBox Titan with white finish), you should use 4x 400w lights or at a push, 4x 600w lights if you are very experienced and have your extraction system just right. It's probably best to call our tech team on 0845 345 5176 and have a chat with us about exactly what you are trying to achieve. then we can advise you better.

paul

Posted July 2, 2012 at 5:21 pm

hi there just got a tent for my shed do i need to insulate my shed roof as i will be using a 600 watt bulb or are the tents insulated enough to keep heat down.

Hi Paul, Using a grow tent creates an enclosed environment that you need to carefully manage. It sounds as though you have your tent in a shed - this will pose more challenges in terms of maintaining the correct growing environment as the shed will get hot in sunlight and will also be susceptible to cold in the winter. A 600 Watt light in a 1.2m tent will create significant heat build up that you will need to manage via an extraction system. The ambient temperature of your air intake source (the shed temperature) will determine how effective your extraction system is at keeping the temperature manageable. I would suggest that anything you can do to keep the shed temperature consistent would be beneficial to your overall grow as you will have less harsh extremes of temperature to contend with.

green ninja

Posted June 6, 2012 at 1:16 pm

hi i have a 2.6ftx2ftx8ft cupboard growroom and have a 400w hps light. i also have a 4" carbon filter and fan taking air out and a fan bringing air in but i am struggling with temp. with door closed temp goes 40c with door open 10inch temp is great between 26c-30c. i no it somethink stupid can u plz help me thx.

I think you have answered the question yourself quite well - if your temperatures become managable with the door open as a passive intake, then the problem is that you are not exchanging the air in your grow room enough times to keep the heat down. I would suggest that you should consider upgrading your extraction system to move more air.
Also, you should make sure that your extracted air is ducted away from your cupboard (so that the heat is not retained around your grow room) and also that your intake air is from a cool source. Also check that there are no kinks or blockages in your intake or extraction ducting as this can restrict airflow. Cupboards seem to have more heat problems that tents in the main, but in the end it all comes down to how often you can replace the hot stale air in your room with cool fresh air from elsewhere - and unfortunately that usually means investing in higher rated fans. An RVK 125 extracting and your existing 100mm fan for intake should be sufficient, although this will also mean upgrading your carbon filter to match. offer a cost effective bundle price.

j

Posted April 5, 2012 at 7:39 pm

i want to grow in my walk-in closet 5x5x9 i have a 430 hps light all soil i want to grow four plants but i dont want to cut no holes in wall for circulation. how could i get good air flow and circulation? or what would you recommend

A sealed grow room is a theoretical possibility, but there are a number of reasons why it is impractical. Your grow light will create heat and this heat needs to be kept under control. This is typically done by extracting the hot air and inputting cooler fresh air. Without this, you will need to use some kind of air conditioning unit to achieve this which will be very expensive. You also need to replace stale air with fresh air that is rich in carbon dioxide. Without fresh air, you will have to manage CO2 yourself. Also a very expesive and tricky process. Basically, it is possible to achieve a sealed grow room, but it almost always more trouble than it's worth. I would advise finding a way to extract and input air from your growing space or finding an alternative space in which to grow. A grow tent is often a great option to create a growing space in these situations.

mr s

Posted January 26, 2012 at 3:46 pm

is it possible to flower soil plants and a hydroponics plant in the same grow room email mr info please thanx

I realy need to know about the right connection parts of ballasts and reflectors and the bulb sockets and how they allrelate. I have a 1000 watt MH sunmaster bulb and have my eye on a reflector but i dont know if it would be suitable, it has a standard brittish plug which i was told can only withstand 250 watts or is it volts and i dont know if that would work and how can i fit that to the lumitech ballast 1000watt digital when it has a different connection part for the bulb socket, im totaly confused, please help.

Is it possible to grow vegetables or even fruits out of season with grow lights used indoors? Can the plants be 'fooled' into believing it is a growing season any time?
If so, surely we can have multiple crops in a year?
Is it possible to use a wind turbine to trickle charge a battery of cells (car batteries for example) and run the lights from these?

Yes it is possible to grow fruit and vegetables out of season and right through the year with indoor growing products such as a tent, lights, grow systems, ventilation equipment, nutrients and boosters, etc - in fact, most people choose to do so mainly because of this huge advantage. You don't have to rely on the weather staying reasonable and can precisely control all aspects of the growing environment, from the hours of light plants receive to humidity levels and even CO2. We're probably not the right people to ask about using renewable energy to run products because developments in areas like wind and solar power haven't yet had a significant impact on our industry, but if there's anything else you need help with just let us know either by calling 0845 345 5176 or by leaving a message on the blog.

Andrew

Posted November 9, 2011 at 5:11 am

Thinking of buying a grow tent 1.2 1.2 2.0
And was wondering if I can grow 12 plants in
That space, also is a 600watt light enough for
That amount of plants.

Strictly speaking it would be possible to grow 12 very small plants in a tent of that size if you don't allow for any vegetative growth and put them straight into flowering. We suggest avoiding this tactic and instead choosing to grow 4-8 large plants when using a grow tent of the stated dimensions. Doing so will give you a much better chance of achieving bigger yields and also proves a lot more easier to manage thanks to the extra space around the plants. Our 1.2m x 1.2m x 2.0m tent - the Extra Large (XL) BudBox - can be found here: http://www.growell.co.uk/xl-budbox-tent.html

growell team

Posted October 4, 2011 at 10:16 am

Hi David,

The Blue Print has been put together on the basis that a 600w light suits a 1.2m x 1.2m space, a 400w light suits a space of 1m x 1m and a 250w light suits a space of 0.8m x 0.8m. So if, for example, you were planning on using 600w lights, you'd be able to comfortably accommodate 3 lights or 4 lights at an absolute push. With this knowledge you can then consult The Blue Print for our recommendations on the correct extraction/filtration to use in this scenario along with suitable growing systems and environmental control equipment. Rather than trying to give suggestions based on size of room/space (as everyone has different room sizes and shapes), we've done it based on type and number of lights you've chosen to use.

For more help please feel free to give one of our friendly experts a call on 0845 345 5177.